


The Meaning of Family

by tryslora



Series: All Our Yesterdays [19]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Community: fullmoon_ficlet, Expectations, M/M, Past Divorce
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-13
Updated: 2013-12-13
Packaged: 2018-01-04 13:24:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1081525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tryslora/pseuds/tryslora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jackson had an image of what the McCall pack would have become in the decade while he was gone. This is not necessarily it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Meaning of Family

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written for prompt #47 - expectations at fullmoon_ficlet. Not a big part of the story, but a little snippet from the world of All Our Yesterdays. As always, I do not own the world or characters of Teen Wolf, I just like to play with them.

“This isn’t what I expected to come home to.” Jackson glances over at Isaac, who sits in the corner of the sofa, Derek’s daughter cradled in his arm as he gives her a bottle.

“Are you?” Isaac smirks faintly, one eyebrow up.

“Am I what?”

“Coming home.”

“We’re talking about you, not me,” Jackson points out, because as sweet as Isaac looks, Jackson knows how good he is at manipulating the conversation to his own end, and the idea of this being _home_ is not something he plans to discuss with Isaac. “You, Derek, Athene, and this strange living situation.”

“We’re a pack, Jackson,” Isaac says dryly. “Some of us understand that better than others. Hell, some of us understand it better than our Alpha.”

“Just because we’re a pack we’re all supposed to live together in one giant house?” Jackson shakes his head. That had never been his intention with Stiles, and not just because of Nikki. “I’d think you’d each want your privacy. What about your wife?”

“Don’t have one.” Isaac’s tone is light, but his eyes flash briefly blue, and _that_ is a new look. Jackson holds his gaze for a long moment, acknowledging the change in Isaac’s status, the steel that has to be lurking beneath his soft exterior. Doesn’t it somehow fit that Scott McCall has managed to build a pack of Alphas and killers, despite his own calm attitude?

“You got a toddler from somewhere.”

“I wouldn’t be the first to adopt.” Isaac raises both eyebrows this time, daring Jackson to say something.

And he actually _wants_ to say something. Allison kept him up to date all these years with information about his own family, and tidbits about hers, but she never talked about the rest of the pack and the intricacies of their relationships. He knew the Hale house had been rebuilt, and he knew Derek was part of Scott’s pack… that had happened before Jackson left. 

“It works,” Isaac says, setting the bottle aside and lifting the small girl to his shoulder, patting her back until she burps. “The girls like me. Derek thinks they think I’m a puppy.” He rolls his eyes. “I figure when Cora and Lance spawn, I’ll get their kids too. Pack nanny.”

“But you left not long after I did.” No one has said it outright, but Jackson can put the pieces together. If Derek and Athene married about a year after Jackson left, and she sounds like she didn’t know Isaac until recently, then he had to have been gone.

He shrugs one shoulder. “There wasn’t a place for me here then, so I moved on. When the time was right, I came back. Again, I’m not the first to do that.”

“It wasn’t that simple for me.”

Isaac grins then, something biting and sharp and darker than the smile would make it out to be. “What makes you think it was that simple for me?”

The infant in his arms stretches, then curls in on herself, trusting as she curls against Isaac’s chest. His expression softens as he draws one finger down her cheek. “This one’s going to be an alpha someday,” Isaac murmurs softly. “She’s going to drive Derek nuts. I can’t wait to see it.”

“Hey, Jackson—” Stiles bursts into the room in a spill of arms and legs that remind Jackson vividly of their younger years. He stops dead as he sees Isaac glaring at him. “Oh. Right.” His voice drops low. “Sleeping baby. Gotcha. Wouldn’t want to cause problems. Anyway. Jackson. I think we’ve finally got something and I want your opinion on it. Also, Nik wants to say goodbye before she heads out with Caleb.”

Isaac stands in fluid motion, swaying lightly when the baby fusses, rocking her back to calm. “I’m just going to go get her settled.” He leaves without a backwards look, and Jackson is still trying to figure it all out when Stiles tugs on his elbow.

“He and Derek…” Jackson starts to speak, stopping when Stiles touches his lips with two fingers.

“Don’t. We don’t talk about it. Not if you value your throat. Admittedly, you’ve got claws to bring to the battle, but keep in mind that Athene’s adopted him as hers, too, so you’ll be up against an alpha. And I’d rather see you stay in one piece.”

Jackson can’t help it, flashing a grin when Stiles is done talking. “So you do care about me.”

The look Stiles gives him is quiet and even. “Nik would be heartbroken if something happened to you. Now, do you want to know what we’ve found out, or are we going to stand here talking about Derek’s family life?”

Jackson makes a motion for Stiles to leave the room, and follows as he goes. He’s not done with the idea of what’s going on here, his mind still worrying at it, chewing it over, because he has been without a pack for so damned long and he’s not sure how—or if—he fits into this one. They hadn’t really found their stride as a pack before Jackson left, and everything is different now that he’s back. But it _works_ , with Scott in charge and Derek as his right hand, and extra alphas and allies and children all around.

Jackson gets the feeling that figuring out what works for the pack might be the key to figuring out what’s supposed to work between himself and Stiles. Maybe. It’ll just take time.


End file.
